In vivo anti-diabetic activity, physicochemical and sensory properties of Kunu enriched with African walnut

Abstract

This study aimed at determining the anti-diabetic, physicochemical and sensory characteristics of African walnut enriched- kunu beverage in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic Wistar rats. The physicochemical, sensory and anti-diabetic properties of the four formulated samples viz: NWJ (90% kunu + 10% raw walnut juice); BWJ (90% kunu + 10% boiled walnut juice); RWJ (90% kunu + 10% roasted walnut juice) and ZWJ (kunu 100%) were evaluated using standard methods. The boiling and roasting of the walnut juice affected the TTA and brix of the enriched kunu but all have similar pH around 5. The significant (p < 0.05) increase in insulin, glycogen concentrations, hexokinase and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase activities were observed in the STZ-induced rats after treatment with the enriched kunu. However, the decrease in hepatic glucose concentration and fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase activities in the treated rats, signified a significant (p < 0.05) lowering of the fasting blood glucose level (from 30 to 10 mmol/l) when compared with the untreated rats. Besides, the boiling process of the BWJ sample gave it a significantly (p < 0.05) higher overall acceptability when compared to the RWJ, NWJ and ZWJ samples. The study established the antidiabetic potentials and consumer acceptability of African walnut enriched kunu as potential functional food in diabetes management.